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Central America and the Caribbean
Page last updated: April 24, 2024
The Pacific coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought a civic-military coalition, spearheaded by the Marxist FSLN Sandinista guerrillas led by Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador prompted the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. After losing free and fair elections in 1990, 1996, and 2001, former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA was elected president in 2006, 2011, 2016, and most recently in 2021. Municipal, regional, and national-level elections since 2008 have been marred by widespread irregularities. Democratic institutions have lost their independence under the ORTEGA regime as the president has garnered full control over all branches of government, especially after cracking down on a nationwide pro-democracy protest movement in 2018 and shuttering over 3,300 civil society organizations between 2018 and 2024 using spurious legal or administrative arguments. In the lead-up to the 2021 presidential election, authorities arrested over 40 individuals linked to the political opposition, including presidential candidates, private sector leaders, NGO workers, human rights defenders, and journalists. Only five lesser-known presidential candidates of mostly small parties allied to ORTEGA's Sandinistas were allowed to run against ORTEGA in the November 2021 election. ORTEGA awarded the FSLN control of all 153 of Nicaraguan municipalities in the November 2022 municipal elections, consolidating one-party rule. In February 2023 the regime released 222 political prisoners detained in the context of 2018 protests, 2021 and 2022 elections, and other crackdowns. The National Assembly then voted unanimously to strip these former prisoners and 94 other dissidents of their Nicaraguan citizenship.
Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras
13 00 N, 85 00 W
Central America and the Caribbean
Total: 130,370 km²
Land: 119,990 km²
Water: 10,380 km²
Slightly larger than Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than New York state
Area comparison map:
Total: 1,253 km
Border countries (2): Costa Rica 313 km; Honduras 940 km
910 km
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: natural prolongation
Tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
Extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes
Highest point: Mogoton 2,085 m
Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation: 298 m
Gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish
Agricultural land: 42.2% (2018 est.)
Arable land: 12.5% (2018 est.)
Permanent crops: 2.5% (2018 est.)
Permanent pasture: 27.2% (2018 est.)
Forest: 25.3% (2018 est.)
Other: 32.5% (2018 est.)
1,990 km² (2012)
Fresh water lake(s): Lago de Nicaragua - 8,150 km²; Lago de Managua - 1,040 km²
The overwhelming majority of the population resides in the western half of the country, with much of the urban growth centered in the capital city of Managua; coastal areas also show large population clusters
Destructive earthquakes; volcanoes; landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes
Volcanism: significant volcanic activity; Cerro Negro (728 m), which last erupted in 1999, is one of Nicaragua's most active volcanoes; its lava flows and ash have been known to cause significant damage to farmland and buildings; other historically active volcanoes include Concepcion, Cosiguina, Las Pilas, Masaya, Momotombo, San Cristobal, and Telica
Largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua
6,359,689 (2023 est.)
Noun: Nicaraguan(s)
Adjective: Nicaraguan
Mestizo (mixed Indigenous and White) 69%, White 17%, Black 9%, Indigenous 5%
Spanish (official) 95.3%, Miskito 2.2%, Mestizo of the Caribbean coast 2%, other 0.5%; note - English and indigenous languages found on the Caribbean coast (2005 est.)
Major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Roman Catholic 50%, Evangelical 33.2%, other 2.9%, none 0.7%, unspecified 13.2% (2017 est.)
Despite being one of the poorest countries in Latin America, Nicaragua has improved its access to potable water and sanitation and has ameliorated its life expectancy, infant and child mortality, and immunization rates. However, income distribution is very uneven, and the poor, agriculturalists, and indigenous people continue to have less access to healthcare services. Nicaragua's total fertility rate has fallen from around 6 children per woman in 1980 to below replacement level today, but the high birth rate among adolescents perpetuates a cycle of poverty and low educational attainment.
Nicaraguans emigrate primarily to Costa Rica and to a lesser extent the United States. Nicaraguan men have been migrating seasonally to Costa Rica to harvest bananas and coffee since the early 20th century. Political turmoil, civil war, and natural disasters from the 1970s through the 1990s dramatically increased the flow of refugees and permanent migrants seeking jobs, higher wages, and better social and healthcare benefits. Since 2000, Nicaraguan emigration to Costa Rica has slowed and stabilized. Today roughly 300,000 Nicaraguans are permanent residents of Costa Rica - about 75% of the foreign population - and thousands more migrate seasonally for work, many illegally.
0-14 years: 24.16% (male 784,847/female 751,616)
15-64 years: 69.36% (male 2,134,871/female 2,276,522)
65 years and over: 6.48% (2023 est.) (male 180,441/female 231,392)
2023 population pyramid:
Total dependency ratio: 54.4
Youth dependency ratio: 46.4
Elderly dependency ratio: 8
Potential support ratio: 12.6 (2021 est.)
Total: 28.5 years (2023 est.)
Male: 27.6 years
Female: 29.4 years
0.97% (2023 est.)
16.6 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
5.1 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
-1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
The overwhelming majority of the population resides in the western half of the country, with much of the urban growth centered in the capital city of Managua; coastal areas also show large population clusters
Urban population: 59.8% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 1.45% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030
1.095 million MANAGUA (capital) (2023)
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
19.2 years (2011/12 est.)
Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-29
78 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Total: 14.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 16.2 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 13 deaths/1,000 live births
Total population: 74.5 years (2023 est.)
Male: 73 years
Female: 76.2 years
1.85 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.9 (2023 est.)
80.4% (2011/12)
Improved: urban: 97.5% of population
Rural: 62.6% of population
Total: 83.2% of population
Unimproved: urban: 2.5% of population
Rural: 37.4% of population
Total: 16.8% of population (2020 est.)
8.6% of GDP (2020)
1.67 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
0.9 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Improved: urban: 89.9% of population
Rural: 66.5% of population
Total: 80.3% of population
Unimproved: urban: 10.1% of population
Rural: 33.5% of population
Total: 19.7% of population (2020 est.)
Degree of risk: high (2023)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria
23.7% (2016)
Total: 3.69 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer: 1.57 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine: 0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits: 2.1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
56% (2023 est.)
4.6% of GDP (2020 est.)
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 82.6%
Male: 82.4%
Female: 82.8% (2015)
Deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; drought
Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
Signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
Agricultural land: 42.2% (2018 est.)
Arable land: 12.5% (2018 est.)
Permanent crops: 2.5% (2018 est.)
Permanent pasture: 27.2% (2018 est.)
Forest: 25.3% (2018 est.)
Other: 32.5% (2018 est.)
Urban population: 59.8% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 1.45% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030
1.26% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
Particulate matter emissions: 16 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 5.59 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 6.46 megatons (2020 est.)
Municipal solid waste generated annually: 1,528,816 tons (2010 est.)
Fresh water lake(s): Lago de Nicaragua - 8,150 km²; Lago de Managua - 1,040 km²
Municipal: 286 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 50 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 1.08 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
164.52 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Total global geoparks and regional networks: 1
Global geoparks and regional networks: Rio Coco (2023)
Conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua
Conventional short form: Nicaragua
Local long form: RepĂşblica de Nicaragua
Local short form: Nicaragua
Etymology: Nicarao was the name of the largest indigenous settlement at the time of Spanish arrival; conquistador Gil GONZALEZ Davila, who explored the area (1622-23), combined the name of the community with the Spanish word "agua" (water), referring to the two large lakes in the west of the country (Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua)
Presidential republic
Name: Managua
Geographic coordinates: 12 08 N, 86 15 W
Time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: may derive from the indigenous Nahuatl term "mana-ahuac," which translates as "adjacent to the water" or a site "surrounded by water"; the city is situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Managua
15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonoma); Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Costa Caribe Norte*, Costa Caribe Sur*, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
History: several previous; latest adopted 19 November 1986, effective 9 January 1987
Amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or assent of at least half of the National Assembly membership; passage requires approval by 60% of the membership of the next elected Assembly and promulgation by the president of the republic; amended several times, last in 2021
Civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts
Accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt
Citizenship by birth: yes
Citizenship by descent only: yes
Dual citizenship recognized: no, except in cases where bilateral agreements exist
Residency requirement for naturalization: 4 years
16 years of age; universal
Chief of state: President Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Rosario MURILLO Zambrana (since 10 January 2017); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Rosario MURILLO Zambrana (since 10 January 2017)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by qualified plurality vote for a 5-year term (no term limits); election last held on 7 November 2021 (next to be held on 1 November 2026)
Election results:
2021: Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra reelected president for a fourth consecutive term; percent of vote - Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 75.9%, Walter ESPINOZA (PLC) 14.3%, Guillermo OSORNO (CCN) 3.3%, Marcelo MONTIEL (ALN) 3.1%, other 3.4%
2016: Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra reelected president for a third consecutive term; percent of vote - Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 72.4%, Maximino RODRIGUEZ (PLC) 15%, Jose del Carmen ALVARADO (PLI) 4.5%, Saturnino CERRATO Hodgson (ALN) 4.3%, other 3.7%
Description: unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 statutory seats, current 91; 70 members in multi-seat constituencies, representing the country's 15 departments and 2 autonomous regions, and 20 members in a single nationwide constituency directly elected by party-list proportional representation vote; up to 2 seats reserved for the previous president and the runner-up candidate in the previous presidential election; members serve 5-year terms)
Elections: last held on 7 November 2021 (next to be held on 1 November 2026)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FSLN 75, PLC 9, ALN 2, APRE 1, CCN 1, PLI 1, YATAMA 1; composition as of March 2024 - men 42, women 49, percentage women 53.9%
Highest court(s): Supreme Court or Corte Suprema de Justicia (consists of 16 judges organized into administrative, civil, criminal, and constitutional chambers)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges elected by the National Assembly to serve 5-year staggered terms
Subordinate courts: Appeals Court; first instance civil, criminal, and labor courts; military courts are independent of the Supreme Court
Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Carlos CANALES]
Alternative for Change or AC (operates in a political alliance with the FSLN) [Orlando Jose TARDENCILLA]
Autonomous Liberal Party or PAL [Rene Margarito BELLO ROMERO]
Caribbean Unity Movement or PAMUC [Armando Francisco ARISTA FLORES]
Christian Unity Party or PUC (operates in a political alliance with the FSLN) [Guillermo Daniel ORTEGA REYES]
Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Mario ASENSIO]
Liberal Constitutionalist Party or PLC [Maria Haydee OSUNA]
Moskitia Indigenous Progressive Movement or MOSKITIA PAWANKA (operates in a political alliance with the FSLN) [Wycliff Diego BLANDON]
Multiethnic Indigenous Party or PIM (operates in a political alliance with the FSLN) [Carla Elvis WHITE HODGSON]
Nationalist Liberal Party or PLN (operates in a political alliance with the FSLN) [Constantino Raul VELASQUEZ]
Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance or ALN [Alejandro MEJIA Ferreti]
Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or CCN [Guillermo OSORNO]
Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN (operates in a political alliance with the FSLN) [Julio Cesar BLANDON SANCHEZ]
Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]
Sons of Mother Earth or YATAMA [Brooklyn RIVERA]
The New Sons of Mother Earth Movement or MYATAMARAN (operates in a political alliance with the FSLN) [Osorno Salomon COLEMAN]
BCIE, CACM, CD, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, Petrocaribe, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; the banner is based on the former blue-white-blue flag of the Federal Republic of Central America; the blue bands symbolize the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, while the white band represents the land between the two bodies of water
Note: similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band
Turquoise-browed motmot (bird); national colors: blue, white
Name: "Salve a ti, Nicaragua" (Hail to Thee, Nicaragua)
Lyrics/music: Salomon Ibarra MAYORGA/traditional, arranged by Luis Abraham DELGADILLO
Note: although only officially adopted in 1971, the music was approved in 1918 and the lyrics in 1939; the tune, originally from Spain, was used as an anthem for Nicaragua from the 1830s until 1876
Total World Heritage Sites: 2 (both cultural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales: Ruins of LeĂłn Viejo; LeĂłn Cathedral
Low-income Central American economy; until 2018, nearly 20 years of sustained GDP growth; recent struggles due to COVID-19, political instability, and hurricanes; significant remittances; increasing poverty and food scarcity since 2005; sanctions limit investment
$40.456 billion (2022 est.)
$38.994 billion (2021 est.)
$35.337 billion (2020 est.)
Note: data in 2017 dollars
3.75% (2022 est.)
10.35% (2021 est.)
-1.77% (2020 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency
$5,800 (2022 est.)
$5,700 (2021 est.)
$5,200 (2020 est.)
Note: data in 2017 dollars
$15.672 billion (2022 est.)
Note: data in current dollars at official exchange rate
10.47% (2022 est.)
4.93% (2021 est.)
3.68% (2020 est.)
Note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Fitch rating: B- (2018)
Moody's rating: B3 (2020)
Standard & Poors rating: B- (2018)
Note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
Agriculture: 15.5% (2017 est.)
Industry: 24.4% (2017 est.)
Services: 60% (2017 est.)
Comparison rankings: services 126; industry 113; agriculture 62
Household consumption: 69.9% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 15.3% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 28.1% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 1.7% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 41.2% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -55.4% (2017 est.)
Sugar cane, milk, rice, maize, plantains, groundnuts, cassava, beans, coffee, poultry
Food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, knit and woven apparel, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood, electric wire harness manufacturing, mining
1.39% (2022 est.)
Note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency
3.189 million (2022 est.)
Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work
4.99% (2022 est.)
6.27% (2021 est.)
6.28% (2020 est.)
Note: % of labor force seeking employment
Total: 11.6% (2021 est.)
Male: 10.2%
Female: 15.5%
24.9% (2016 est.)
Note: % of population with income below national poverty line
46.2 (2014 est.)
Note: index (0-100) of income distribution; higher values represent greater inequality
Lowest 10%: 2%
Highest 10%: 37.2% (2014 est.)
Note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population
20.59% of GDP (2022 est.)
15.2% of GDP (2021 est.)
14.63% of GDP (2020 est.)
Note: personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities
Revenues: $3.452 billion (2019 est.)
Expenditures: $3.511 billion (2019 est.)
-2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
33.3% of GDP (2017 est.)
31.2% of GDP (2016 est.)
Note: official data; data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by Government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as retirement, medical care, and unemployment, debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions; Nicaragua rebased its GDP figures in 2012, which reduced the figures for debt as a percentage of GDP
19.81% (of GDP) (2022 est.)
Note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP
Calendar year
-$215.895 million (2022 est.)
-$438.479 million (2021 est.)
$456.1 million (2020 est.)
Note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars
$7.87 billion (2022 est.)
$6.618 billion (2021 est.)
$5.342 billion (2020 est.)
Note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
United States 60%, El Salvador 5%, Mexico 5% (2019)
Clothing and apparel, gold, insulated wiring, coffee, beef, cigars (2021)
$10.213 billion (2022 est.)
$8.342 billion (2021 est.)
$5.952 billion (2020 est.)
Note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
United States 27%, Mexico 12%, China 11%, Guatemala 9%, Costa Rica 7%, El Salvador 6%, Honduras 6% (2019)
Refined petroleum, clothing and apparel, crude petroleum, packaged medicines, insulated wiring (2019)
$4.404 billion (2022 est.)
$4.047 billion (2021 est.)
$3.212 billion (2020 est.)
Note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars
$11.674 billion (2019 est.)
$11.771 billion (2018 est.)
Cordobas (NIO) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
35.874 (2022 est.)
35.171 (2021 est.)
34.342 (2020 est.)
33.122 (2019 est.)
31.553 (2018 est.)
Population without electricity: (2020) less than 1 million
Electrification - total population: 86.2% (2021)
Electrification - urban areas: 100% (2021)
Electrification - rural areas: 66.3% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 1.837 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 3,182,620,000 kWh (2019 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
Imports: 434 million kWh (2019 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 1.89 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Comparison rankings: installed generating capacity 122; transmission/distribution losses 125; imports 91; exports 187; consumption 137
Fossil fuels: 37.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Solar: 0.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Wind: 15.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Hydroelectricity: 12.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Geothermal: 16.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Biomass and waste: 17.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
Total petroleum production: 200 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 35,100 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 13,000 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)
14,720 bbl/day (2015 est.)
460 bbl/day (2015 est.)
20,120 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
4.851 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 4.851 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
14.916 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
Total subscriptions: 215,729 (2022 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 3 (2021 est.)
Total subscriptions: 6,233,864 (2021 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 91 (2021 est.)
General assessment: Nicaragua’s telecoms market has mirrored the country’s poor economic achievements, with fixed-line teledensity and mobile penetration also being the lowest in Central America; the fixed line broadband market remains nascent, with population penetration below 4%; most internet users are concentrated in the largest cities, given that rural and marginal areas lack access to the most basic telecom infrastructure; internet cafés provide public access to internet and email services, but these also tend to be restricted to the larger population centers; to address poor infrastructure, the World Bank has funded a project aimed at improving connectivity via a national fiber broadband network; there are separate schemes to improve broadband in eastern regions and provide links to Caribbean submarine cables; the number of mobile subscribers overtook the number of fixed lines in early 2002, and the mobile sector now accounts for most lines in service (2021)
Domestic: fixed-line teledensity is 3 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone subscribership is 91 per 100 persons (2021)
International: country code - 505; landing point for the ARCOS fiber-optic submarine cable which provides connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)
Multiple terrestrial TV stations, supplemented by cable TV in most urban areas; nearly all are government-owned or affiliated; more than 300 radio stations, both government-affiliated and privately owned (2019)
.ni
Total: 3.933 million (2021 est.)
Percent of population: 57% (2021 est.)
Total: 290,351 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 4 (2020 est.)
Number of registered air carriers: 1 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 7
YN
39 (2024)
54 km oil (2013)
Total: 24,033 km
Paved: 3,447 km
Unpaved: 20,586 km (2013)
2,220 km (2011) (navigable waterways as well as the use of the large Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua; rivers serve only the sparsely populated eastern part of the country)
Total: 5 (2023)
By type: general cargo 1, oil tanker 1, other 3
Major seaport(s): Bluefields, Corinto
Armed Forces of Nicaragua (formal name is Army of Nicaragua or Ejercito de Nicaragua, EN): Land Forces (Fuerza Terrestre); Naval Forces (Fuerza Naval); Air Forces (Fuerza AĂ©rea) (2024)
Note: both the military and the Nicaraguan National Police (PolicĂa Nacional de Nicaragua or PNN) report directly to the president; Parapolice, which are non-uniformed, armed, and masked units with marginal tactical training and loose hierarchical organization, act in coordination with government security forces and report directly to the National Police; they have been used to suppress anti-government protesters
0.6% of GDP (2022 est.)
0.6% of GDP (2021 est.)
0.6% of GDP (2020 est.)
0.6% of GDP (2019 est.)
0.6% of GDP (2018 est.)
Approximately 12,000 active personnel (10,000 Army; 800 Navy; 1,200 Air Force) (2023)
The military's inventory includes mostly secondhand Russian/Soviet-era equipment; in recent years, Russia has been the leading arms supplier to Nicaragua (2023)
18-30 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; tour of duty 18-36 months (2024)
The military is responsible for defending Nicaragua’s independence, sovereignty, and territory, but also has some domestic security responsibilities; key tasks include border security, assisting the police, protecting natural resources, and providing disaster relief and humanitarian assistance; it has ties with the militaries of Cuba, Venezuela, and Russia; Russia has provided training support and equipment
The military’s Land Forces have a mechanized brigade and approximately eight regional commands or detachments, each with one or more light infantry battalions; there is also a small special operations command; the Naval Forces operate patrol boats and have a naval infantry battalion; the Air Forces do not possess any combat aircraft
The modern Army of Nicaragua was created in 1979 as the Sandinista Popular Army (1979-1984); prior to 1979, the military was known as the National Guard, which was organized and trained by the US in the 1920s and 1930s; the first commander of the National Guard, Anastasio SOMOZA GARCIA, seized power in 1937 and ran the country as a military dictator until his assassination in 1956; his sons ran the country either directly or through figureheads until the Sandinistas came to power in 1979; the defeated National Guard was disbanded by the Sandinistas (2024)
National Secretariat for Extraterrestrial Space Affairs, The Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (SecretarĂa Nacional para Asuntos del Espacio Ultraterrestre, la Luna y otros Cuerpos Celestes, established 2021; operates under the military’s control) (2023)
Stated mission of the space agency is to promote the development of space activities with the aim of broadening the country’s capacities in the fields of education, industry, science, and technology; has cooperated with China and Russia; is a signatory of the convention establishing the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency (ALCE) (2023)
Note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S
Tier rating: Tier 3 — Nicaragua does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore, Nicaragua remained on Tier 3; the government took some steps to address trafficking, including passing a new National Action Plan; however, the government continued to minimize the severity of the trafficking problem, did not have shelters, and did not allocate funding for victim services; authorities made negligible efforts to address labor trafficking—which remained a serious concern—and victim identification efforts remained inadequate; officials did not convict any traffickers and did not support Nicaraguan trafficking victims identified in foreign countries; the government did not cooperate with civil society to fund their work or refer victims to them for support (2023)
Trafficking profile: human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Nicaragua, as well as Nicaraguans abroad; women, children, and migrants in Nicaragua are most at risk; women and children are subject to sex trafficking within the country and in other Central American countries, Mexico, Spain, and the US; victims’ families are often complicit; Nicaraguans who migrate or are forcibly displaced to other Central American countries and Europe risk sex and labor trafficking, both in transit and after reaching their destinations; traffickers use social media and other means to recruit victims with promises of higher-paying jobs in restaurants, hotels, domestic service, construction, and security outside of Nicaragua, where they are subjected to sex or labor trafficking; victims often are recruited from rural areas or border regions, and children whose parents leave to work abroad often are exploited in sex and labor trafficking; Nicaraguan women and children are subjected to sex and labor trafficking in the two Caribbean autonomous regions, where the lack of strong law enforcement, rampant poverty, high crime rates, and the impacts of past natural disasters increase the vulnerability of the local population; traffickers force children to participate in illegal drug production and trafficking, while others are forced to work in artisanal mines and quarries; children and persons with disabilities are subjected to forced begging; Cuban nationals working in Nicaragua may have been forced to work there by the Cuban Government; Nicaragua is a destination for child sex tourists from Canada, the US, and Western Europe (2023)
Transit route for illicit drugs originating from South America destined for the United States